ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: nail · pitcher · game · calf · fan · court · land · fall

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. court — of a king
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. court — of law
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. land — to come down
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — for sport
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. game — wild animals
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com